POACHER SENTENCED FOR ILLEGAL BEAR TRAPPING

Apparently Trapping Bears to "Hunt"

posted May 6, 2004

Clifton Lee McCarter of Tellico Plains, TN was sentenced
in United States Federal Court on May 3, 2004, for his involvement
in an illegal bear trap site in the Cherokee National Forest in Monroe
County.

McCarter was sentenced to: Thirty days incarceration
in Federal prison, and two years supervised probation. During the
two years of probation McCarter is prohibited from possessing firearms,
prohibited from hunting by any means anywhere, and prohibited from
entering any National Park or National Forest.

In addition, McCarter was ordered to pay the USDA Forest
Service - Tellico Ranger District the sum of $3,000 for rehabilitation
of an illegal four-wheeler trail utilized to access the trap.

In July, 2003 officers and agents with the Tennessee
Wildlife Resources Agency, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and the USDA
Forest Service discovered an illegal bear bait site associated with
a bear trap in the Tellico Ranger District.

Surveillance of the site resulted in agents observing
McCarter as he checked and tended to a bear that was inside a trap.

A search warrant of McCarter's residence revealed a
large steel cage, believed to have held live bears in the past and
an additional trap in the Cherokee National Forest adjacent to his
residence. Agents also recovered several videotapes that displayed
numerous black bear hunts, including one video of a black bear tied
to a cable and individuals allowing dogs to fight it.

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